Attention time dictation theory
Why your attention is being fracked 24/7
One of the (solipsistic) purposes of starting this newsletter was to explore how technology has impacted our lives. One such concept is what I’m coining the Attention Time Dictation Theory.
The Attention Time Dictation Theory posits that before the advent of smartphones and mobile internet, your attention was largely dictated by time-based media.
In the morning, you would read the newspaper or watch morning TV. During your commute, you’d listen to the radio. When you came home, you’d tune into the latest TV show at prime time. And as you unwound, you’d chat with friends but only if they were also online on MSN Messenger. Each of these mediums had brands vying for your attention during specific time slots.
Fast forward to today, and every medium, company, and content creator is vying for your attention around the clock.
Netflix isn’t just competing with Disney+; it’s competing with YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. As riveting as the Olympics might be on TV, you’re likely second screening. Not to mention, every content creator (including yours truly) is employing a dozen growth hacks just to capture your attention.
To fully illustrate this shift, let’s imagine the daily routine of Emily — an accountant in her early 20s in the year 2004. I've highlighted in bold every media channel that Emily is exposed to.
7:00 am
Emily wakes up to her radio alarm clock that starts playing "Don’t Tell Me" by Avril Lavigne, one of her favourite songs from the year. She gets out of bed, makes a quick breakfast, and starts getting ready for the day.
8:00 am
Emily heads out the door and catches her usual train to the city. During her commute, she tunes out the bustle of the morning rush by listening to Usher's latest album, Confessions, on her silver iPod Mini.
9:00 am
Emily arrives at her desk in the accounting department of a mid-sized firm. She starts her day by checking emails on her desktop computer, which runs Windows XP.
9:30 am
Emily dives into her work, focusing on reconciling accounts and preparing financial statements. She uses Microsoft Excel extensively, entering data and running calculations to ensure everything balances perfectly.
12:00 pm
For her lunch break, Emily grabs a sandwich from the local cafe and eats it in the office kitchen. She browses the daily newspaper that’s lying on the table.
1:00 pm
Back at her desk, Emily continues with more detailed financial analysis and budgeting tasks. She communicates with colleagues via landline phones, intranet, and internal email.
5:00 pm
The workday winds down, and Emily wraps up her tasks and turns off her desktop computer.
5:30 pm
Emily leaves the office and heads back to the train station. On the way home, she reads My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult.
6:30 pm
Back at her apartment, she has the nightly news turned on as she eats dinner.
8:00 pm
After completing a few chores, she makes sure to tune into her new favourite show House MD.
9:00 pm
Emily spends some time online, browsing the web and chatting with friends on MSN Messenger. She spends half an hour playing Neopets, feeding her pets and getting the free Giant Omelette.
10:00 pm
As the day winds down, Emily reads a few more chapters of her book before getting ready for bed. She sets her alarm clock for the next day, plugs in her iPod Mini to charge, and drifts off to sleep, ready to start it all over again tomorrow.
As you can see, to a large degree, Emily’s attention was captured by media that was time based. Now, let’s imagine Emily if she lived in 2024.
7:00 am
Emily wakes up to the alarm on her iPhone and she starts scrolling through a dozen notifications she’s received across iMessage, Whatsapp, Instagram, Apple News, emails, and Teams.
7:30 am
She finally gets out of bed and plays a podcast as she makes a quick breakfast, and starts getting ready for the day.
8:00 am
Emily heads out the door and catches her usual train to the city. During her commute, she watches her favourite YouTube channels on her iPhone in minimised view and simultaneously chats to her friend on iMessage. She pauses the YouTube video to reply to an urgent work email from her manager.
9:00 am
Emily arrives at her desk in the accounting department of a mid-sized firm. She finds a hot desk and sets up her laptop. She replies to 4 Teams messages and 4 work emails.
9:30 am
Emily dives into her work, focusing on reconciling accounts and preparing financial statements. She uses Reckon APS, an online accounting software. She occasionally scrolls her social media on her iPhone and replies to messages.
12:00 pm
For her lunch break, Emily grabs a sandwich from the local cafe and eats it in the office kitchen. She’s scrolling social media as she eats. She receives a spam call from someone pretending to be from the state government.
1:00 pm
Back at her desk, Emily continues with more detailed financial analysis and budgeting tasks. She’s been sending emails and Teams messages, joining both Zoom and in person meetings through out the day.
5:00 pm
The workday winds down, and Emily wraps up her tasks and packs away her laptop.
5:30 pm
Emily leaves the office and heads back to the train station. On the way home, she listens to a personal finance podcast while swiping Bumble as she’s sick of being single. After her free swipes run out, she switches to scrolling Instagram and then TikTok.
6:30 pm
Back at her apartment, she turns her TV on and plays Bridgerton as she eats dinner, her phone buzzes, as her friends are messaging in a group chat.
8:00 pm
As she is doing her chores, she continues playing her podcast.
9:00 pm
Emily boots up her gaming laptop and plays a few rounds of PUBG which have a collab with NewJeans.
10:00 pm
Her iPhone is on 5% battery, so she plugs it in to charge and lies in bed scrolling social media for another hour before finally going to sleep.
The Emily living in 2024 is no longer bound by time based media. Every brand, medium, company, and content creator can reach her as long as she is awake.
Her attention is being fracked 24/7.
And now thanks to AI, even more garbage can be blasted at her.
Implications of Attention time dictation theory for companies
Previously companies trying to grab Emily’s attention would be competing with other advertisers on a specific medium, say Kellogg’s Corn Flakes would be competing with General Mills’ Cheerios on morning TV ad slots.
Now, however, every company is competing with each other. Which has resulted in companies trying to reach customers on every available channel — an ineffective spray and pray approach. What these companies should be focusing on is the right channel, right audience, right message
At a conference, I recently heard this profound line from Seth Godin - most companies burn trust to get attention.
A quick glance at your email inbox will certainly prove this insight correct. What companies should be doing is in fact the opposite — burning attention to get trust.
Instead of posting another Instagram post about how AI is going to revolutionise your customer’s workflows, post about a story of a customer who was recently helped by the support team in an emergency.
Instead of sending yet another email about your latest promotion, send an email showcasing all of the security enhancements your company has worked on.
Things that caught my attention
How to price your product | Naomi Ionita (Menlo Ventures) — Lenny’s Podcast
Did you know LinkedIn has a services marketplace?
I got featured by the LinkedIn news team